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Sunday, October 27, 2013

This game was going to hurt no matter who lost it. The Cardinals would have been devastated to lose a game where they had blown two different two-run leads, and where they had left so many runners on base. The Red Sox would have been devastated to lose a game in which they had fought so hard and battled so well against St. Louis's bullpen. And that's not even counting the agony of falling behind 2-1 in a Series where you only need four wins for victory. By the time the ninth inning began, it was clear that this was a game that fans in Boston and St. Louis would remember for a long time.

But if the game was going to be painful for the loser no matter what, the specific facts of this ending will be excruciating for Red Sox fans. If they fail to win this Series, the fact that they lost Games Two and Three on bad throws to third base will be remembered for a long, long time. Also it will not take the folks in New England very long to realize that their Champions made some very odd decisions in the ninth inning.

First, they let Brandon Workman bat for himself in the top of the inning, leaving Mike Napoli on the bench. This would make sense if Workman was in the game for a long time, but then the Red Sox pulled Workman as soon as Molina got a one-out single in the ninth.

Second, after Allen Craig hits a double to put runners on second and third with one out, Boston closer Koji Uehara threw to Jon Jay instead of walking Jay to set up a potential inning-ending double play.

Third, after Jay slapped a grounder to Pedroia, and he threw Molina out at the plate, Saltalamacchia tried to throw out Craig at third. In my opinion, this throw never should have been made. There are two outs, and Uehara is a great pitcher. It is extremely unlikely that Uehara will throw the ball away, or that Pete Kozma will get a two-out game-winning hit off of Uehara. If Saltalamacchia simply holds the ball, it is almost certain that Uehara will retire Kozma and the game will go into the 10th. The Cardinals had already used their best relievers, so they would have been at a disadvantage. Instead, for the second game in a row, Boston loses the game because of a bad throw to third base.

All of these mistakes were made before Will Middlebrooks, Boston's back-up third baseman, failed to catch Saltalamacchia's bad throw, and then appeared to lift his legs in an effort to block Crag's progress home. For the second game in a row, the Cardinals were able to put Boston in a situation where the Red Sox were making decisions more quickly than they were used to -- and for the second game in a row, the Red Sox were killed by their bad decisions.

This Series got off to a clunky start in Game One, where the Cardinals simply appeared to be out of their depth. But the last two games have been as hard-fought and as entertaining as almost any World Series games I can remember. Now that the influence of steroids has been greatly reduced, we can see the enormous array of young talent that has poured into the game in recent years, and the depth of talent in good organizations like St. Louis and Boston. I can hardly wait for Game Four.

And now Lance Lynn has walked Xander Bogaerts. The bases are loaded with no outs.

Unfortunately for Boston, Stephen Drew is due up next -- and he is batting less than .100 in the post-season. On ESPN Radio, Dan Schulman thinks the Red Sox should pinch hit with Mike Napoli right now. But Hershiser isn't convinced.

And that's all for Lynn. He is pulled and replaced by Seth Maness, who will face Gomes.

Maness v. Gomes (men on 1st and 2d, two out):

Pitch 1 (0-0): Ball lowPitch 2 (1-0): Called strikePitch 3 (1-1): Ball lowPitch 4 (2-1): Foul (And all the folks at Busch are waving towels)Pitch 5 (2-2): GOMES CRUSHES A THREE-RUN HOMER OVER THE LEFT FIELD WALL -- the first homer we've seen since the Series arrived in St. Louis.

In the top of the 7th, Maness retires Ross and Doubront (who bats for himself). And then Maness is replaced by Randy Choate, who induces Ellsbury to fly out to right and end the inning. Boston still leads 4-1.

In the top of the 8th, Kevin Siegrist retired the first two Red Sox batters, but then David Ortiz (naturally) laced a single into center. He is 3-3 in this game, and 8-11 in the Series. He has been amazing.

Craig, who can barely walk, crushed a ball to the right field wall, which would normally be a double, or even a triple, but Craig could only hobble to first.

The Cardinals sent in Kolten Wong to pinch-run for Craig.

Matt Carpenter took a big swing, didn't make the contact he wanted, and popped up to short (two out).

So now it's up to Carlos Beltran. He takes a ball and a strike. The crowd is going nuts. BUT SUDDENLY UEHARA THROWS OVER TO FIRST, AND WONG IS PICKED OFF! THE GAME IS OVER! BOSTON WINS, AND BELTRAN NEVER GETS A CHANCE TO SWING HIS BAT.